The Tennessean

According to a report from Reuters, the Chicago-based buyout firm GTCR has reached out to Bank of America Merrill Lynch for help looking for potential purchasers.

Two of Capella’s possible buyers are familiar names in Nashville: Brentwood-based LifePoint Hospitals Inc. and Iasis Healthcare in Franklin. The third potential buyer mentioned, Regional Care Inc., is based in Nebraska.

The deal could be valued at around $1 billion, according to the report, which was based on two unnamed sources.

Capella, which was founded in 2005, operates 14 facilities in Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington, with the most (five) in Tennessee. In 2012, Capella partnered with Saint Thomas Health, one of Nashville’s major provider systems.

“We are constantly evaluating opportunities — like all smart health care systems across the country — to strengthen our company and our hospitals for the coming years,” said Dan Slipkovich, CEO and board chairman of Capella. “Health care is changing significantly, so we continue to work closely with GTCR, our equity sponsor, on how we best position Capella for that new environment.”

However, he would not comment specifically on the possible sale.

“Our focus at the hospital level is no different, as we evaluate opportunities in every community,” Slipkovich said. “The future of health care is about collaboration and innovation. That’s what we’re doing wherever we serve — building the strongest possible regional networks for our communities to fulfill our primary focus: delivering the highest quality of care and preparing for the changes of reform.”

In July, Iasis announced that it would sell all three of its hospitals in Florida to Nashville-based for-profit hospital company HCA.

LifePoint has made several key acquisitions lately.

Most recently, it signed a joint venture agreement with Virginia-based Fauquier Health. “Our acquisitions program is very active,” said LifePoint CEO William Carpenter during the company’s second-quarter earnings call in July. “As we've discussed, since 2009, our acquisition strategy has been to move into faster growing markets, with a more diversified employer base.”

Representatives from Capella did not respond immediately to a request for comment.